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DEC

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dec-

var. of deca- before a vowel: decathlon.

Dec.

dec.

1. (in prescriptions) pour off. Origin:
< L dēcantā
2. deceased.
3. decimeter.
4. declension.
5. decrease.
6. Music. decrescendo.

deca-

a combining form meaning “ten,” used in the formation of compound words: decapod.
Also, especially before a vowel, dec-.
Compare deci-, deka.


Origin:
< Gk deka-, comb. form of déka ten; c. L decem

De⋅cem⋅ber

[di-sem-ber]
–noun
the twelfth month of the year, containing 31 days. Abbreviation: Dec.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME decembre < OF < L december (s. decembr-) the tenth month of the early Roman year, appar. < *dec(em)-membri-, equiv. to decem ten + *-membri- < mens- month + -ri- suffix (with -sr- > -br- and assimilation of nasal)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Slang Dictionary
des [dis]

and dec
  1. n.
    December. (Securities markets. Futures and options trading.) : The bean futures for des fell out of bed yesterday. , Sell the aks and buy the des.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

December 
c.1000, from O.Fr. decembre, from L. December, from decem "ten;" tenth month of the old Roman calendar, which began with March. The -ber in four L. month names is probably from -bris, an adjectival suffix. Tucker thinks that the first five months were named for their positions in the agricultural cycle, and "after the gathering in of the crops, the months were merely numbered."
If the word contains an element related to mensis, we must assume a *decemo-membris (from *-mensris). October must then be by analogy from a false division Sep-tem-ber &c. Perhaps, however, from *de-cem(o)-mr-is, i.e. "forming the tenth part or division," from *mer- ..., while October = *octuo-mr-is. [T.G. Tucker, "Etymological Dictionary of Latin"]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: dec
Function: abbreviation
1 deceased
2 decompose
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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deca- or dec- or deka- or dek-
pref.
Ten: decane.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
deca-  
A prefix that means "ten," as in decahedron, a polygon having ten faces.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Computing Dictionary

DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation

dec programming
/dek/ decrement, decrease by one. Especially used by assembly language programmers, as many assembly languages have a "dec" mnemonic.
Opposite: inc.
[The Jargon File]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
dec
decoration
DEC
  1. decorated

  2. Department of Environmental Conservation

  3. Digital Equipment Corporation

The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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